Researchers in the College of Agricultural Sciences are at the forefront of solving a mysterious ailment affecting honey bees, and Penn State's role as the lead institution in studying the problem has drawn worldwide media attention.

A malady known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has decimated commercial and some hobby beekeeping operations across the country, with some beekeepers reporting losses as high as 100 percent. The disorder first was reported to the college's Department of Entomology in November 2006 by a migratory beekeeper from the Lewisburg area. Penn State Researchers and extension educators soon teamed with government agencies, other universities, and the bee industry in a CSI-style race to identify the causes and come up with solutions.

At stake is more than just honey; many important U.S. crops rely on pollination services provided by commercial beekeepers, including apples, almonds, peaches, soybeans, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. “For instance, Pennsylvania’s $45 million apple crop—the fourth largest in the country—is completely dependent on insects for pollination, and 90 percent of that pollination comes from honey bees,” says Maryann Frazier, a senior extension associate in entomology who specializes in apiculture. “So, the value of honey bee pollination to apples is about $40 million.” In total, honey bee pollination contributes about $65 million to the value of crops in the state.

Nationwide, honey bee pollination is worth about $15 billion to the food supply and is credited with helping to produce a third of the nation’s diet. “In addition to agricultural crops, honey bees also pollinate many native plants in the ecosystem,” Penn State entomologist Diana Cox-Foster told federal legislators at a March congressional hearing addressing the CCD problem.

Hives suffering from CCD exhibit several unique symptoms: The colony rapidly proceeds from a strong colony with many individuals to a colony with few or no surviving bees; queens are found with a few young adult bees, lots of brood (developing offspring), and more-than-adequate food reserves; and no dead adult bees are found in or near the colony. In other words, most of the bees simply disappear. Bees in affected colonies are infected with a high number of known disease organisms, but researchers have found little evidence of infestation by varroa and tracheal mites, two parasites that have contributed to significant colony losses over the last 20 years by weakening bees and spreading viral diseases.